Microsoft has officially expanded and enhanced the .NET Bounty Program, now offering up to $40,000 in awards for eligible vulnerability reports impacting .NET and ASP.NET Core (including Blazor and Aspire). This move, effective July 31, 2025, marks the largest reward increase since the program’s inception and underscores Microsoft’s commitment to improving the security of its software ecosystem through community collaboration.
Expanded Scope: Broader .NET Ecosystem Coverage
The newly enhanced .NET Bounty Program dramatically widens its scope to cover more of the .NET technology stack. The expansion means eligible submissions now include:
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All supported versions of .NET and ASP.NET.
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Adjacent technologies such as F#.
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Supported versions of ASP.NET Core for .NET Framework.
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Templates provided with supported .NET and ASP.NET Core versions.
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GitHub Actions in the .NET and ASP.NET Core repositories.
This broader coverage ensures continuous, proactive security review across the full range of development technologies that modern organizations and enterprises rely on, while also supporting community-driven innovation.
Restructured Rewards: A Transparent, Impact-Driven Framework
Microsoft’s restructured award system is now designed to not only incentivize high-quality research, but also clarify the value of different types and severities of vulnerabilities:
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Awards are now based on the potential impact of a vulnerability, with higher-impact, exploit-ready flaws resulting in greater rewards.
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Impact categories now align with other Microsoft bounty programs, ensuring consistency and fairness in how submissions are evaluated.
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Clear severity levels—such as “Critical,” “Important,” and specific exploit categories—help researchers focus on the most meaningful threats.
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Eligible submissions are rated as either “complete” (includes fully functional exploits) or “not complete” (theoretical or partial), ensuring detailed, actionable reporting is recognized with the highest rewards.
Here’s how rewards break down by impact and submission quality:
| Security Impact | Report Quality | Critical | Important |
|---|---|---|---|
| Remote Code Execution | Complete | $40,000 | $30,000 |
| Not Complete | $20,000 | $20,000 | |
| Elevation of Privilege | Complete | $40,000 | $10,000 |
| Not Complete | $20,000 | $4,000 | |
| Security Feature Bypass | Complete | $30,000 | $10,000 |
| Not Complete | $20,000 | $4,000 | |
| Remote Denial of Service | Complete | $20,000 | $10,000 |
| Not Complete | $15,000 | $4,000 | |
| Spoofing or Tampering | Complete | $10,000 | $5,000 |
| Not Complete | $7,000 | $3,000 | |
| Information Disclosure | Complete | $10,000 | $5,000 |
| Not Complete | $7,000 | $3,000 | |
| Insecure Documentation/Samples | Complete | $10,000 | $5,000 |
| Not Complete | $7,000 | $3,000 |
Note: “Complete” submissions require a fully functional exploit; “Not Complete” covers plausible but not fully demonstrated issues.
Stronger Security for All
This enhanced incentive structure rewards security researchers for finding flaws in key .NET platforms, including the highly popular ASP.NET Core, Blazor, and Aspire. With legacy and bleeding-edge technologies now both in-scope, Microsoft is ensuring ongoing security vigilance across the platforms that power enterprise applications, public websites, and cloud services.
The reimagined program is also transparent about how bounties are calculated. By matching security impact types with other Microsoft bounty programs, researchers gain better insight into how to maximize their contributions—and rewards. The approach also encourages submission of well-documented, actionable reports that lead directly to measurable improvements in Microsoft software security.
How to Participate: Making the .NET World Safer Together
If you’re a security researcher, ethical hacker, or developer, submitting qualifying vulnerability reports is as simple as:
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Identifying a vulnerability in an in-scope .NET technology (see above).
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Preparing a detailed submission, with extra rewards for complete, proof-of-concept exploits.
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Filing your report via the Microsoft Security Response Center platform.
All valid vulnerability reports help Microsoft further secure its products for its global customer base—and, with the top-tier payout now at $40,000, the incentives are higher than ever before.
A Commitment to the Research Community
Microsoft’s regular enhancements to its bug bounty programs are driven by the realization that security is an ever-evolving team effort. “Your contributions are essential to strengthening the security of .NET, and we look forward to your future submissions,” notes Microsoft in its latest update. This program not only helps keep software safer, but also ensures that researchers are fairly recognized for their crucial work.
Microsoft’s decision to dramatically expand the .NET Bounty Program’s rewards and scope is a win-win for developers, researchers, and all users of the .NET ecosystem. The significant rewards underscore the value of community-driven security efforts and reflect the increasing complexity—and essential importance—of application-layer defense. If you’re ready to make a difference and potentially earn a substantial reward, now is the time to engage with Microsoft’s .NET Bounty Program.
Ready to submit your discovery or learn more? Visit the Microsoft Security Response Center Bug Bounty Programs page or read the official blog post for complete terms and resources.
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